Gavini Family (Denis, Adeline, Antoine)

The Gavini family were a prominent Corsican political dynasty who became Marie Bashkirtseff's most important and enduring social allies in Paris. Denis Gavini (born in Bastia on 11 October 1819 according to fr.wikipedia, 8 October 1820 at Campile according to the Assemblée nationale's Sycomore database; died in Paris on 1 March 1916, or 2 March per Sycomore), former prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes under the Second Empire and Bonapartist deputy for Corsica, and his wife Adeline (nee d'Agen, daughter of Count Raymond d'Agen), provided Marie with social guidance, political connections, opera tickets, matchmaking, and the legitimacy of an established French family. Their nephew Antoine Gavini (24 July 1856, Bastia -- 8 March 1926, Paris), son of Denis's brother Sampiero Gavini, was a young lawyer whom Adeline treated as a surrogate son and positioned as Marie's escort. The family is tagged in 430 diary entries across 28 carnets (075, 080--106), making them among the most frequently mentioned figures in the entire diary.

Historical Background

The Gavini Dynasty of Corsica

The Gavinis originated from the village of Campile in Haute-Corse and were major landowners near Aleria. They dominated right-wing clan politics in northern and central Corsica (the left-wing rival clan being the Giacobbi family). Initially Bonapartists, they eventually rallied to the republican regime in 1892 while remaining conservatives. The family produced multiple generations of deputies, senators, and a Secretary of State for the Navy, maintaining political influence from the mid-19th century into the 1950s.

Denis Gavini de Campile

Adeline Gavini (nee d'Agen)

Denis's wife, born Adeline d'Agen, daughter of Count Raymond d'Agen. Marie calls her by many names: "Mme Gavini," "Madame Gavini," "Adeline," "la mere Gavini," "la positive Adeline" (for her practical, materialistic outlook on marriage and society), and "la charmante Adeline." Of the two Gavinis, Adeline was Marie's primary social companion -- shopping together, attending the Bois de Boulogne, going to the opera, and evaluating marriage prospects with clinical precision. She also served as an unofficial chaperone and matchmaker.

Antoine Gavini (the nephew)

Son of Denis's brother Sampiero Gavini (1823--1875) and nephew of Denis, Antoine was a young Corsican lawyer born in Bastia on 24 July 1856 (fr.wikipedia). He dines with the Bashkirtseffs on 30 December 1878, and Marie notes that he "vient de passer avocat" and will "plaider pour rien" until he is old enough to stand for election (083.0514). Adeline treats him as a son and uses him as Marie's escort: "Antoine vous reconduira ... il faut s'y habituer puisque ça va arriver souvent" (083.0516). Marie refers to him as "Gavini neveu," "Gavini (neveu)," or simply "Antoine." He later became deputy for Corsica (1889--1898, 1903--1910, 1919--1924) and senator (1912--1920). Marie sometimes lists him alongside "Kiki" (Filippini), another Corsican in the Gavini orbit.

The Gavinis in Marie's Life

First Encounters (1877--1878)

Marie first encounters Mme Gavini on 28 October 1877 at the salon of Mme la générale Doubelt in Paris, where she is presented as "Mme Gavini, dernière préfète de l'Empire, à Nice" -- the last prefect's wife of the imperial era in Nice, under whose "reign" the Russian colony (Randouin, Souvoroff, Doubelt, Korsakoff) had flourished (075.0465).

The relationship turns from casual acquaintance into a working alliance in June 1878, when Marie, desperate to attend a reception at Versailles linked to the Universal Exposition and the Cassagnac affair, recognizes Mme Gavini's landau in the Bois de Boulogne ("Lorsque passe un landau avec une dame qui nous salue. Mme Gavini. M. Gavini préfet des Alpes Maritimes sous l'Empire, député à présent. Nous l'avons rencontrée une fois chez la Doubelt") and calls on her that evening (080.0455, 1878-06-07). Denis is introduced and offers to help. From this moment the Gavinis become Marie's primary social patrons.

The Corsican Circle

The Gavinis anchored a tight-knit Corsican social network in Paris that included Filippini (nicknamed "Kiki," who posed for Marie's paintings), Multedo, Nervo, and others. Marie describes evenings at the opera in the Gavinis' company alongside diplomats and aristocrats: "Ce soir à l'Opéra avec les Gavini, dans la loge du prince de Honiau... Le marquis de Las Cases, le marquis de Châteaurenard, le comte de Chaudordy, le duc de Rivoli" (088.0106, 1880-05-05). The Gavini home served as a salon where Marie encountered deputies, ambassadors, and high society: "j'ai passé deux heures chez les Gavini à voir défiler des visites, des diplomates et des sénateurs et des femmes élégantes" (084.0708, 1879-04-20).

Social Guidance and Matchmaking

Denis gave Marie frank social intelligence. After she had been seen with Blanc, he explained that Blanc "n'est pas un homme du monde ... une espèce de Cassagnac mais inférieur et que dans la société il est de troisième catégorie" (085.0018, 1879-04-26). When Marie's name appeared in the newspapers (through Saint-Amand's indiscretion), "les Gavini très en colère sont venus hier me reprocher cette extravagance" (094.0465, 1882-04-29), protecting her reputation; see #Saint_Amand.

Adeline was an indefatigable matchmaker. She weighed Marie's suitors with businesslike precision -- of one marquis she says he has "20.000 francs de rente et en aura 80.000 mais ses parents sont jeunes" (084.0618, 1879-04-07). She destined Multedo for Marie ("que je refuse immédiatement et à l'unanimité de tous mes sentiments," 080.0695, 1878-06-20). When Marie despaired over Cassagnac's marriage, "les Gavini disent que Cassagnac ne mérite qu'Acard et que je suis bien trop jolie, trop riche, trop bien pour lui" (080.0704, same day). On 5 June 1880, walking with Marie on his arm, Denis said of Casimir, "dans votre situation ... je vous conseille de l'épouser, vraiment" -- "un mot cruel," Marie writes (088.0659).

Marie's Social Conquest

Marie was conscious of her relationship with the Gavinis as a strategic achievement: "J'ai fait la conquête des Gavini et Madame parle de moi chez elle et ailleurs dans des termes exagérés" (083.0278, 1878-11-27). She admitted the calculation: "toute seule j'ai trouvé les Gavini et je m'en trouve peu à peu d'autres" (085.0025, 1879-04-26). Genuine affection developed as well: "Madame Gavini m'adore" and "elle m'aime vraiment cette femme" (084.0619, 1879-04-07); "La mère Gavini est venue encore aujourd'hui pour dire à maman que je me fatigue trop" (088.0118, 1880-05-07); "la mère Gavini dans ses tendresses m'embrasse et me dit que j'ai l'air jeune" (088.0384, 1880-05-26).

The Later Years (1882--1884)

The Gavinis remained constant through Marie's artistic career and declining health. They attended the Salon, dined frequently at the Bashkirtseff home, and continued providing social access; on 4 November 1883 they gave the lunch after church for twelve guests, "Denis et Adeline" among them (102.0108). On 16 June 1884, at Macbeth, Marie notes that "Denis devient tout à fait gâteux, depuis deux ans il a baissé !" (104.0591). In one of the very last diary entries, "Gavini et Géry ont dîné ici" while Marie hides her tuberculosis behind a sore throat (106.0187, 1884-10-18).

Diary Coverage

Key Paragraph References

Marie's Names for the Gavinis

Relationship to Other Glossary Entries

Related Entries